La Conner community swells support around its new upstart newspaper
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
by Jeff Noedel
In late December, La Conner, Washington lost its weekly newspaper. That newspaper was well over a century old.
Attempts to purchase the incumbent newspaper failed and the publisher stopped publication.
While more than 2,000 U.S. communities have settled for social media as a replacement for their former weekly newspaper, the La Conner community refused to stay in the ranks of news deserts for long.
The La Conner community has donated many tens of thousands of dollars so far to launch the new newspaper, and donations continue to roll in.
On March 4, approximately 24 La Conner-area citizens congregated in the meeting room of the La Conner Swinomish Library to learn of progress with the new venture named La Conner Community News.
SanJuans.Today was there.
Publisher Kari Mar informed them that their online version of the new La Conner Community News was drawing a large audience. And she was enthusiastic about the imminent printing of the first issue of the La Conner Community News on newsprint.
On Wednesday, March 19, Mar, the staff of the newspaper, and Andrew Ashmore, who heads the nonprofit arm of the news outlet, gathered at Skagit Publishing in Mount Vernon to watch the first issue of the paper roll of the press.
It was a 12-page full-color newspaper. A total of 3,000 papers were printed, folded and delivered the next day. The community was thrilled when volunteers delivered the papers to homes and businesses.
It is truly impressive what the La Conner community, and the dynamo named Kari Mar, accomplished in approximately 100 days.
SanJuans.Today was at the Wednesday night inaugural printing. Video of that milestone night is below.
CNL2 Media, publisher of SanJuans.Today, is assisting La Conner Community News as a fiscal sponsor, while they are working toward and waiting on their own 501c3 designation.
